'Well I saw (Jamie) Carragher’s comments about him (Sturridge) which I didn’t think were great,' Pardew told Sky Sports before the game on Monday night.

The injury-prone forward headed down the tunnel after being substituted by Alan Pardew

'In my opinion, the problem with this team is that they’ve drawn more games in a calendar year than anyone else.

'You need a player that can actually deliver a moment in a game. Daniel without the ball isn’t the greatest striker in the world but with the ball he’s right up there. He can be the difference for us to get a goal out of nothing.

'He’s trained well, he’s looked good, his attitude has been spot on and I hope he delivers for us tonight. He’s a special talent when he has the ball.'

Sturridge joined West Brom on loan from Liverpool at the end of the January transfer window until the end of the season.